As most of you already know, our oceans are being inundated with plastics. NOAA released a report a few weeks ago that estimates we are dumping 8,000,000 tons of plastics into our seas EVERY YEAR!

While very little has been done (yet!) to actually remove this life-threatening garbage, there are a few individuals doing all they can to figure out ways to not only remove it, but to re-use it.

Bonnie Monteleone is a marine biologist, and a research scientist at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. She started her own nonprofit two years ago, and it is dedicated to developing solutions to this huge problem by actually going out to the areas of ocean where this garbage accumulates (called gyres) to conduct research as well as collecting and creating art pieces from the debris.

They use this art to educate the public about the impact plastics have on wildlife. On the other end of the spectrum of solving this huge dilemma of plastic proliferation, we here at Ocean Defenders Alliance (ODA) continue to actively remove debris (much of it plastic) from the sea to make it a safer place for all life.

We here at ODA are really proud to have Bonnie on our Board of Directors.

Please take a few minutes to read this article by National Geographic, just published about her and her nonprofit organization Plastic Oceans Project.